Book Buzz

By: Jill Gunderson

Title: TheDollhouse Academy.
By: Margarita Montimore

Happy March, Neighbors! This month I am wildly excited to share a book with you all that is by an author I adore. As soon as I read and finished “Oona Out of Order” by Margarita Montimore, I just knew I would love every single book that she wrote! So, friends, let me introduce you to her newest novel, "The Dollhouse Academy."

This book starts off with all things bright and shiny, full of hopes and dreams that quickly turn sideways in this unsettling story about fame and ambition’s dark side. It is a psychological suspense novel that you may have to read in one sitting, and then non-stop think about and low-key obsess over if this is really an untold story in Hollywood. (Cue The Twilight Zone intro music!)

Let’s get into it. Two best friends, Ramona and Grace, grew-up idolizing A-list actress Ivy Gordon—one of the most poised, successful and famous movie stars to ever come out of The Dollhouse Academy. But what exactly is The Dollhouse Academy? Where stars are made, of course! It’s an elite boarding school that is very difficult to get into, but once you’re there, success is pretty much guaranteed. From the elite instructors and the specific classes tailored to one’s craft, to having their own reality TV show (that Ramona and Grace are obsessed with BTW), who wouldn’t want to go?

Ramona and Grace are used to the stage, and help Ramona’s uncles with their struggling theatre. When the anticipated box appears granting their acceptance into the coveted school, they are beyond excited they get to fulfill their lifelong dream together! 

Insert creepy hand written notes to Ramona warning her to not go. But you guessed it, she ignores the notes, keeps them to herself, and the two besties head off to start the next chapter of their lives together. The one where they get famous!

At the Academy, Ramona is in for a surprise when she finds Ivy Gordon’s journal that she left behind in one of her old rooms. The entries are dark, shocking, and full of secrets…or maybe they’re just wild imaginative stories? Ramona doesn’t know who to tell, or even if she should. The warning letters keep coming, Grace’s career starts to sky rocket and the two friends are slowly being pulled away from each other. But is it jealousy Ramona is feeling watching her friend achieve what they both came for? Or something darker? Ramona must get to the bottom of what The Dollhouse Academy truly is before something happens to her, and before she can save her best friend. 

Oh, friends…there is so much I want to say about this book! It is such a thrill, thought provoking, and insightful that I couldn’t put it down! The characters were all so intriguing and the story so wildly unique but believable!! I truly hope that you decide to pick this one up, read it with your book club, or get your steps in while listening to the Audible! It will not disappoint!

Happy reading, Neighbors

Jill xoxo

@ThatShelfLove

@JillGundersonAuthor